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<title>you needed someone to take care of you by basementrituals</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29779974">you needed someone to take care of you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/basementrituals/pseuds/basementrituals'>basementrituals</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Slow Dancing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:08:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29779974</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/basementrituals/pseuds/basementrituals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>mac finds dennis at the end of a late night binge.<br/>post-s14, established relationship<br/>(cw for heavy romanticization of severe alcohol abuse in this fic)<br/>-<br/><i>the record flips, and chicago's 'colour my world' begins to play, soft and scratchy. he turns around with a self-satisfied smirk and dennis scoffs, "'s pretty cliché, mac."</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you needed someone to take care of you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> 4:00 am </em>
</p><p>
  <em> on a monday  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> philadelphia, pa  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>paddy's is swimming. strange, unsteady and endless: all shelves of liquor and empty booths and neon signs with blinding halos. he's going to be sick if he keeps this up, puking his soul all over the floor, but he's not there yet. instead, he plants his hands down to steady himself for another shot of jameson, exhaling deep as he tips the bottle carelessly and drains it - overfilling the glass and spilling some on the battered old bartop. he retches as it touches his tongue, sharp and rough, bringing a fist to his mouth but choking it down regardless. fucking irish whiskey - it burns at first, gradually fading into the familiar stroke of warmth behind his sternum. it pulls him down now, and when he opens his eyes the room lurches and spins like a shoddy carnival ride. he sags and rolls his forehead on his folded arms. not here, not here, don't fall asleep here. somewhere distant, he hears the front door slam. </p><p>"dennis? what the hell -" ah, of course. a hand comes to rest heavily on his shoulder and he swings his head up. mac's bright eyes meet his bleary bloodshot ones, so he shuts them again.</p><p>"holy shit, den," mac leans in, tapping the empty bottle of jameson on the bar, "did you drink this whole fifth?" </p><p>he nods slowly, "uh, i might've…" </p><p>"might have," mac repeats skeptically, though he doesn't actually sound annoyed or particularly concerned by the scene before him. they've shared more than a few nights like this, all of them have. "you are completely trashed." </p><p>mac reaches out to fix a strand of hair that's sticking up at his temple, letting his fingertips linger there, and dennis falls toward the touch. his skin is warm and damp with sweat. "yea…i am. sorry," he mumbles. </p><p>"well, you will be," mac laughs as he starts to move away. </p><p>"wait, don't - don't go," dennis protests the loss.</p><p>"it's cool, man," he soothes as he slips behind the bar, rummaging around underneath it, "i'm still here." </p><p>dennis tries to focus on mac's movements as he retrieves a clean glass, raking it through the icebox and filling it with water from the tap before pushing it in his direction, "here. take sips." </p><p>he does as he's told. mac cracks open his own beer from the cooler and walks back around to where dennis is slouched on the corner barstool. water helps to wash back the nausea, but does nothing to tether his twisting double vision. hands settle on his hips from behind, "music?" mac offers with his voice low and gentle. </p><p>"if you want," he replies, letting his head dip low sleepily. mac presses a light kiss to the top of his spine, "okay! let me just, uh -" </p><p>dennis sits up, clutching the glass of water and reeling hard when mac leaves him once again.   </p><p>he stares at mac's figure near the jukebox, colorful lights illuminating his blurry edges as he bounces on his heels thoughtfully, "how about - ah." </p><p>the record flips, and chicago's 'colour my world' begins to play, soft and scratchy. he turns around, sauntering back with a self-satisfied smirk and dennis scoffs, "'s pretty cliché, mac." </p><p>mac ignores his quip, brushing a thumb along his jaw, tilting his chin up and kissing him. it's brief and innocent, and when mac breaks away he stays close. he lowers his hand, biting his lip like he has something to ask.</p><p>"hey," he whispers, "are you feeling okay?" </p><p>"mm -" dennis breathes, "yea, 'm fine." he feels his stomach turn, and he knows he's been slurring pretty bad. </p><p>"wanna dance?" </p><p>the floor continues to spin below his feet, "…s'probably not such a great idea." </p><p>"i'll hold you," mac says, adamantly tugging him up from the stool. he staggers forward before mac catches him. </p><p>"c'mere," mac coaxes his head down against his shoulder, tangling one hand in his hair and wrapping the other around his waist, "you sure you're okay?" </p><p>"stop asking me that," dennis bristles. mac doesn't even flinch, just keeps swaying as he combs his fingers mindlessly through dennis' curls. dennis sniffs, "sorry," he rests his hands on mac's chest, allowing himself to be held, "i'm sure, yes." </p><p>he buries his nose in the crook of mac's neck. mac smells good, like he always does. it's 2-in-1 soap and their brand of laundry detergent, beer and his cheap cologne. he leads them in little circles across the floor. dennis sighs, and the cavernous void that threatened to overwhelm him earlier closes just a little. </p><p>"i love you," mac says quietly. </p><p>he claws at mac's worn t-shirt, "i know that." </p><p>his limbs feels impossibly heavy and loose, eyes sliding shut as he slumps in mac's grip. mac responds by turning him out on one arm, throwing the other behind his legs and sweeping him easily from his feet. </p><p>"oh! shit," dennis squawks in surprise, and then he laughs. </p><p>"don't worry, den. i got you." </p><p>he drapes his arms across mac's shoulders, leaning in to plant a few wet kisses on his cheek, "warn me next time, ths'all…" </p><p>a few minutes later, mac is folding him carefully into the passenger seat of the range rover. dew coats the windshield and sticks to the paint, birds chirp as he locks up paddy's and then clambers into the driver's side. the engine turns over slowly a few times before it finally fires to life far too loudly for the quiet air. dennis presses his pale face to the cool window. about halfway home, he waves his hand urgently, "stop, mac. stop the car -!"  </p><p>he barely has time to pull over when dennis flings the door open and convulses, spilling it all into the gutter. cold sweat prickles on his skin as he gags and coughs, trembling while mac rubs his back, "empty?" </p><p>he spits before he finally pulls himself back in with a groan, "fuck, i hope so."   </p><p>dennis is almost totally out cold by the time they arrive, so mac carries him up the stairs to their apartment, too. he fumbles with the keys, shoves the door open with his foot and makes his way to dennis' room. he sets him down on the edge of the mattress, diligently removing his shoes and pants.</p><p>"sit tight," he instructs, "i'll be right back." dennis nods groggily. </p><p>when mac returns with ibuprofen and a bottle of gatorade from the fridge, dennis has already crawled under the covers. he sets the provisions down on the nightstand and dennis reaches out for him, "stay in my bed?" </p><p>"yea, dude." </p><p>mac kicks off his own boots. he switches out the lights and situates himself in bed behind dennis, who rolls over and curls himself into mac's body like he's never belonged anywhere else in his life. </p><p>"thanks," he mutters, barely audible. mac pulls him in close. dennis is already asleep, so he follows not long after, to the waking sounds of south philadelphia outside the window and the steady deep breathing from beside him. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*drinking an entire fifth of whiskey is likely to kill or at least hospitalize the average person, so i don't rlly recommend doing it<br/>anyway i wanted to write something soft. thank you for reading :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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